A Model-Driven Approach for Conducting Simulation Experiments

With the increasing complexity of simulation studies, and thus increasing complexity of simulation experiments, there is a high demand for better support for their conduction. Recently, model-driven approaches have been explored for facilitating the specification, execution, and reproducibility of simulation experiments. However, a more general approach that is suited for a variety of modeling and simulation areas, experiment types, and tools, which also allows for further automation, is still missing. Therefore, we present a novel model-driven engineering (MDE) framework for simulation studies that extends the state-of-the-art by means for knowledge sharing across domains, increased productivity and quality of complex simulation experiments, as well as reusability and automation. We demonstrate the practicality of our approach using case studies from three different fields of simulation (stochastic discrete-event simulation of a cell signaling pathway, virtual prototyping of a neurostimulator, and finite element analysis of electric fields), and various experiment types (global sensitivity analysis, time course analysis, and convergence testing). The proposed framework can be the starting point for further automation of simulation experiments, and therefore can assist in conducting simulation studies in a more systematic and effective manner. For example, based on this MDE framework, approaches for automatically selecting and parametrizing experimentation methods, or for planning following activities depending on the context of the simulation study, could be developed.